AN: Whoo! Exams are over! Yes its 11AM and I'm sitting at home relaxing until tomorrow…ah how I love study leave…And I thought I'd be nice and bring you people another chapter ^_^ Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far. Thank you!
Chapter 7: Enter the Fortress
Link's POV
The rain lashed against my face as our remaining forces staggered up the wet earthen pathway, some of the Zoras slipping on the syrupy wasteland. Mud caked my boots and dotted my wet and tired face. The night was drawing on, the storm growing wilder and violent by the passing minutes.
I sat waiting on Epona with Zelda mounted by my side, the white coat of her horse now a pale brown. Our backs were soaked, and my hands were beginning to grow numb in the cold as I gripped the reigns. Epona was becoming restless as she swung her head and shivered in the night squall.
I grimaced as I looked over my shoulder to the bodies lining the rocky hill. The blood had been washed away into the ground but the smell of corroding bodies was overwhelming. Many of them, enemy and ally alike, lay piled in muddy heaps as the held back troops cleared them away, while Guays were beginning to circle us in the dark sky, waiting to prey on the flesh that lay open to them.
I looked across to Zelda, bravely withstanding the pelting and bullet rainfall; her face set; her body unmoving upon her horse. I smiled at her, and reached out for her hand that clenched the reigns. Hers was as ice cold as mine and I looked into her wet, blue eyes. She was shaking, the cold drilling into her thin Sheikah uniform.
"Not too much longer now." I said. She smiled back at me and squeezed my hand tightly as the wind threw her long blonde hair out behind her.
"Princess!" a voice shouted quietly through the storm. We both turned round to the source of the voice and I saw a Gerudo run alone up the slopes. Immediately I drew my sword and slid from Epona's back ready to fight. But Zelda shouted down to me,
"Wait!" I held back, but still held my sword in my hand. Zelda slipped off her horse and ran out in front of me towards the woman.
"Your highness…You're safe. Thank the goddesses!" she said gasping for breath.
"Where have you been? Is my father ok? Is he hurt? How…" her questions began to run into each other as I heard her speak. I walked up slowly behind her, scouting the area for any more Gerudos that we may have missed. How could this one not be under Gannondorf's power?
"He's perfectly safe. We escaped to the ranch. I saw you through the window," she said pointing to the ranch. She now looked past Zelda toward me and smiled. Now fully seeing her face, I recognised her as one of the desert guardians I had seen when I had crossed the blinding sand to the Colossus. "I see you finally brought him back." she said quietly to Zelda. She turned her head away from me abruptly and continued to talk to Zelda but I couldn't hear what they were saying above the howling winds and the rolling thunder in the sky.
"LINK!" a voice screamed in the darkness. I glanced quickly toward Zelda, feeling slightly uneasy at leaving her alone with the Gerudo, but she too looked at me, signalling for me to go. I whistled for Epona and I leapt up into her saddle as she began to canter round the corner into the valley.
I had not prepared myself for what I was about to witness. I felt sick as I saw the limp, flaming carcasses on the ground, arrows sticking out in every direction as if they were a pincushion. A carpet veiled the entire battleground in dirty, burning and rotting bodies. Ahead lay a barrage of warriors, many on foot slicing in every direction with blades and spears, but women also lined the cliff walls, perched like birds with dying, flaming torches and bows poised. A barricade had been set up before the bridge and more lay ahead, sheltering Gerudos from our petit onslaughts.
Many Gerudos in the valley were on horses, carrying lances and long swords cutting back our defenceless army, thrusting the sharp pieces of metal straight through the hearts of the Zoras. Screams and shouts were all I could hear above the roaring night.
"LINK!" the voice shouted again through the riots. I looked down and saw Link lying on the burning ground, his small rocky arm stretched out toward me. An arrow lay jammed in his tender side and blood cloaked his belly, wrapping him in the warm fire of near death. I jumped off Epona, and ran down to his side.
"Link, what happened? Can you move?" I said frantically, knowing that I was asking really stupid questions.
"They came, we fell. There are too many. We fail to fight soon. You our only hope now. You and Zelda," he said choking on his own blood. I felt the tears come to my eyes, wishing I had never included this young Goron in this terrible battle.
"Hold on! You'll be ok! Here, take my hand." I said, my tears being washed away by the floods of rain. At that moment, thunder struck in the valley, and sparks flew onto the dead corpses, igniting their cold flesh. The fires spread quickly, gobbling up the fuel that made it grow. I pulled the small boulder from the masses that had fallen over him, feeling the flames brush my back. He shouted out in pain, but I lugged his tired and weak body over Epona's saddle and shoved my foot in one stirrup smacking Epona's hindquarters with my blood-splattered hand. The fire was gradually eating away our path away, and to make matters worse, Gerudo scouts had spotted me and were beginning to fire lit arrows toward us.
Epona reared in surprise, her cry alerting even more archers to our presence. Flaming orbs of fire came whistling at us; many off their target because of the wind; some extinguishing before they even reached us, but Epona managed to gallop out of no man's land back round the corner into our quarters. Even more exposed to the elements the freezing chill of death suddenly engulfed us as I halted Epona and pulled the Goron from her back.
Zelda and the Gerudo were still with their backs toward me and I shouted over to them to come and help me. But neither of them moved.
"Zelda!" I called. Maybe they didn't hear me before.
"I'm afraid that your princess won't be coming with you." A devilish laugh entailed. Zelda suddenly spun round, struggling in the Gerudo's arms, a knife caressing her straining neck. Leaving Link with Epona I drew my sword.
"Let her go!" I shouted, cursing myself for leaving her.
"Link! Watch out! Its - " Zelda cried, but the blade suddenly jerked toward her and she was silent.
"Watch what you say!" the Gerudo said spitting in Zelda's face. Rage flowered inside of me, my numb hands squeezing the wet blade clasped in my fingers. "I wouldn't try and fight if I were you." She said smiling smugly while she motioned her head up toward the cliffs. The archers from before were lining the tops of the mountains, every arrow following my every move.
All had gone quiet; the thunder dormant in the skies, the rain sleeping in the clouds while the first light of the new day pierced the dark skies. Morning was upon us as the black skies merged into a faint pink. I whispered in the silence, watching with seething hatred at the Gerudo in front of me.
"That's right…Now, hand me the ocarina." She said, the knife growing ever closer to Zelda's skin. I could hear her frantic and frightened breaths and I cringed. I needed to help her, and quickly.
I raised my left arm and went to sheath my sword. I then searched through my pockets.
"Good boy." I heard the Gerudo say mockingly.
As I found what I was looking for, I brought it out, my hands covering it from view. I walked over to towards Zelda, hearing the faint sizzling noise coming from my hands.
"Put it down on the floor!" she yelled. My hands were getting warmer and warmer as I approached. I knelt down, continuing to whisper in the dawn.
As I stepped away I shouted to the heavens. "Nayru's Love!" and at once my blue barrier shielded me from the impact of the bomb I had placed on the ground. I leapt over the exploding gunpowder and pulled Zelda to me, away from the dazed Gerudo. I ran to Epona, a shocked Zelda in my arms, the pale blue aegis extending and encapsulating both horses, Link and ourselves against the attack.
"Link…What happened?" Zelda asked. "The ocarina! Where is it?" she said anxiously.
"Don't worry, its safe," I said. "Are you all right?" I said, my hand resting on her neck. She nodded, but it was her right shoulder that was stained red. "Zelda. What…" without finishing my sentence I tore my tunic sleeve with my teeth and wrapped it around her arm.
Just then, the screams of the Gerudos waking from their confusion sounded in the air. I readied the Master Sword, stepping in front of Zelda. Through the clearing smoke I could see them jumping from the headlands and charging with their daggers poised in the air, their yellow eyes and white mouths leering in the morning sunlight.
"Link! Look up there!" Zelda cried from behind me. I shot my eyes skyward as the Gerudos began to slow down. The grey clouds were swirling, the eye of the supposed storm opening up the heavens. Red static electricity sparked around the opening, and out of nowhere a fiery red light flashed down to the ground, flames erupting from the impact. I veiled my eyes from the bright light, but when I opened them again, my sword fell from my hand.
"Daurnia…" I whispered.
His heaving, spiky body stomped on the earth, leaving deep dents where he had placed his feet. The Gerudos cowered at the mere sight of him. He bellowed loudly and possibly out of sheer fright, one Gerudo charged terrified towards his flaming body. The large Goron held out of hand, smashing the woman's skull as she collided with his rocky palm. She fell to the floor, the horrible crunch still echoing through my mind. Zelda whimpered at the cracking of bones, burying her head in my back. I held her to me, almost feeling pity for the fallen woman.
At once everyone fled, many scrambling back up the rocks while others ran horrified around the sharp bend into the valley. But none of them were able to escape. Daurnia's own version of Din's Fire swallowed the fleeing murderers, burning their tanned flesh a dark black as they fell lifelessly back down the rocks. Daurnia turned to us now, and stomped heavily over to us.
"Let me see him." He said loudly. We stepped aside slightly horrified, Nayru's Love now wearing off, giving the Goron sage enough room to see his son. The pale blue barrier flickered and vanished as Daurnia passed by and knelt down in the churned mud.
"Dad…" Link uttered, his black eyes cracked open as consciousness returned to him. Daurnia turned to us and smiled.
"Brother…You have done enough here. I will take care of my son. You saved us once before, and you shall again." he said warmly, clapping me on the shoulder with his large hand. He bowed. "Your highness," he said respectfully. "May you succeed in your battle. The sages will be watching over you." He smiled and returned to tending to his son.
"Lets go." I said into Zelda's ear.
"Link, I…" she began, her hand still clutching my shirt. "Thank you." She said smiling, the sunshine warming her face. Her blond hair shone like gold in the early morning and she truly looked beautiful. I found myself blushing a little, as my cheeks began to grow warm.
"Its ok," I said flustered. She leaned up and kissed me quickly before walking toward her horse. "Come on. We've got a battle to win." she said smiling.
We rode together, me leading way round into the deep valley with more confidence than ever before, despite being the only two survivors. As we entered the gateway into the main citadel of the Gerudo Fortress, we were faced with the remaining Gerudo army, the fires of the storm now burnt out.
As our horses trod through the mounds of flesh, I saw that the bridge had crumpled into the raging river, charred wood being the evidence. But then again the ropes sustaining the bridge had also been cut. There was no way we could get across. They stood fast, looking angrily toward us, unmoving. Their forces filled the entranceway into their thriving city, while we barely were an army.
I knew Epona could jump the gap, but that would be pointless. The moment we landed on the ground they would kill us. Unless…
"Zelda…could you transport us to the fortress?" I whispered.
"I don't know whether I can go that far."
***
Zelda's POV
"It's our only chance to get in." Link whispered to me.
"I'll try. Give me your hand." I said. I took a deep breath. This was unlike any distance I had travelled before.
I began to murmur the words of Faeroe's Wind as I concentrated on the fortress. I had only since it once and that was while I was travelling as a Sheikah seven years ago…
A green light began to envelop us, and I heard the Gerudos across the valley gasp in wonder and bewilderment. Soon Link and I were flying through the fabrics of time, soaring over the fazed Gerudos, over the flaming barricades, through the dusty tracks up to the looming stone fortress built deep into the rock. We passed scout towers made of thatch and logs and the stables still containing many horses ready for war. We flew over the guards patrolling the fortress entrances, oblivious to our lightening speeds of travel.
As we reached nearer and nearer to our goal, the strain of transferring so much energy was starting to take its toll. I couldn't breathe easily under the pressure and I felt my mind begin to collapse in concentration. But if I didn't deliver us properly, we may be woven into the fabric of time forever. I cried out in pain as my head spun with dizziness, and I felt Link's hand tighten around mine.
"You can do it Zelda. I believe in you. I know you can do it." He said.
But I couldn't take us any further. We materialised into the real world again, and I braced myself for the impact as I held Link securely. Yet we didn't move. I opened my eyes and found we were sitting right atop the castle walls and I sighed in relief. Nevertheless, my head was still spinning and I couldn't focus or concentrate.
"You did it." Link said in my ear, but as I slumped toward him, his tone of voice changed completely. "Zelda? Are you ok?" I couldn't answer. He brought me away from him and looked at me. My head hung on my shoulders, my eyes now closed. My breathing was shaky and I suddenly realised that my hands were trembling. "Zelda," he breathed. "You're going to be ok," his voice was shaking also. "I…I can't do this without you…I need you with me. Please Zelda…wake up." He said hugging me close.
I stirred, consciousness returning to me slightly. I opened my eyes and tried to speak.
"I'm right…here Link…" I said, barely more than a whisper.
"I thought I almost lost you…" he said softly.
"I'm ok." I said, my mind clearing.
"HALT!" a voice shouted, and I think both of our hearts stopped beating at that moment. "Intruders!" she shouted and at once I heard feet scuffle in the sands. I felt the assassin inside me rise up as I unconsciously drew my needles from under the bandage wrapped around my arm and threw them at the guard. We both ran across the top of the fortress, alarms being raised and more torches being lit to identify us.
I was suddenly grabbed by Link round my waist and I was lifted off my feet in one swift movement. I clung to him for dear life as we swung through the air into a hatch in the rock. We landed with a thud on the hard stone floor, of what seemed to be a jail cell, but at least we were now safe from the Gerudos for a while. Link still held me protectively against him as again I was lifted off the ground, now going upwards.
We were now above the jail cell and Link pulled me down a flight of stairs that led into the fortress. He let go of me and I ran after him, following him through various cells and large room adorned with the skeletons of animals and brown clay pots in the corners of the otherwise plain rooms.
We ran up more stairs, as the shouts behind us were growing louder. More shouts were coming from in front of us as well, and as we quickly bore right into another ascending corridor, a group of guards collided with us.
"Get up you blundering fools!" one shouted as they sprang up from the floor. As I realised what had just happened, Link grabbed my hand and pulled me away as the guards gathered themselves off the floor. My shoulder was beginning to throb again from falling on the floor, and the pain was becoming overwhelming. I held my limp arm as I ran, finding myself slowing down with every step.
The guards were close behind me now, and they were beginning to throw their knifes, barely missing my feet as I tried to keep up. I saw Link glance back over his shoulder up ahead.
"Zelda!" he shouted as he pulled out his hookshot, but at the same time a dagger flew into the back of my leg, throwing me to the ground. I cried out as my body shook in agony as it tumbled to the floor. I heard Link's footsteps dash across the floor and I heard the music of his sword as he unsheathed it and let it dance through the air as he cried madly above me.
Tears were rolling down from my eyes as I bit my lip, trying to hold the rushing pain inside me. But to no avail could I keep my emotions veiled. I cried freely on the cold, blood stained floor, bodies falling around me. All was silent now, except for Link's husky breathing. I felt myself being picked up in the arms of my saviour, being held close to him as he continued running towards our unknown destination.
